Tamed
by Baseballyarg
Summary: Hey! I decided I'd try writing a new work. The basic story here is that Takato is a dependent relationship with his cousin Kai after being separated from Guilmon and his friends in Tokyo. Kai doesn't want to have this relationship stop, but Takato will start to try to break away in High School after meeting Henry again.
1. Chapter 1

He was hardly someone I could recognize anymore. Takato, along with his friends from Tokyo, had managed to save everyone. The once shy and lonely boy was now surrounded by all of his friends. I was so proud. I was so envious of my cousin. I felt so weak. I wish I had been chosen... I even went to Tokyo during the D-Reaper crisis cause I thought I could do something about it, but I was useless.

The world, for the most part, returned back to normal very quickly. The governments of the world became interested in maintaining the border between us and the digital world. To avoid a potential tragedy that would have been born had the D-Reaper fully materialized in our world, the government was now constantly working on closing any hole that appeared in that boundary. The time for digimon, at this time, was gone, and the idea that digimon would once against appear in this world seemed slim.

Although it was devastating for Takato and his friends, with some time they were soon able to return back to their normal lives. Unfortunately for Takato, things were not going to be as easy as before. His parent's business, a bakery, was in financial distress. To try and make some extra income, the family had decided to rent Takato's room out. The initial idea was to have Takato live in the same room as them.

A few weeks in, they realized this arrangement was placing stress on the whole family and something new had to be done. This is when Takato's parents called my grandpa. If possible they wanted to see if Takato could stay with us for a while. We live on a small island off of Okinawa as fishermen. We did not make much but we owned our house so taking care of Takato was not too much trouble.

The young boy moved in the next week. The once strong hero I had seen him before was now crushed. Separated from Guilmon first, and now his friends in Tokyo, Takato seemed like an empty shell. For my part I was happy. I felt superior again. I wanted to help Takato get out of this depression, but I wanted him to completely rely on me.

The next few years went by slowly. Takato's parents were never able to make the bakery's business stable so Takato ended up staying with us and only going back home for some holidays. The isolation of the island would press Takato further dependent on me. I even had to go with Takato the last time he went home for Christmas due to his fear and anxiety of going to the crowded city.

For my part, I knew what was going on was wrong, but I had learned to love this feeling of superiority. I knew he needed me and it made feel strong. I did not want him to be depressed, but I did not want him to become independent. I was fine with him always needing me. I hated myself for feeling weak before.

The past few years we had been attending a small school on the island. It was elementary through middle school, but me and Takato had been the only students in our grade. This had made it easier to isolate him from others. But, now we are going to attend a high school on the main land. The plan is to travel by boat everyday. I just don't know how well my plan will continue to work...

Will I manage to keep him dependent on me? Or will he learn to become independent and strong like he was before? I'm so fucked up. I hate that I'm like this. The only thought that goes through my mind now is that...He is MINE.


	2. Chapter 2

"Wake up!"

What was that? I thought I heard Kai... its such a muffled noise and I just want to go back to sleep...

"Come on man, get up!"

Bleh, that noise again, go away. What was I dreaming about? I think it was about guilmon again. Haha, wow that was a long time ago...It's been almost five years since I last saw him...just a few more minutes...sleep...

The thought barely escaped my mind when I felt the hard thud of a pillow against my face. I blinked a few times and saw Kai straddled on top of me with a huge grin across his face. He pulled the pillow up for another smack until he realized I was getting up. Slowly moving him a bit, I sat up in the bed with him essentially being in my lap.

"Good morning sleepy head!" Kai almost shouted to my face.

"Yeah yeah, mornin Kai" I responded still groggy from the sudden awakening. "What time is it?"

Kai looked up at the ceiling, contemplating for a moment before looking back at me, "It should be about 5am?"

"Wh-hat?" I started, trying to figure out why he would ever get me up so early for. "why? This is too early man." I complained while rubbing my eyes and trying to adjust to the room's brightness.

"Its for school" Kai quickly responded.

"But school's not for...a week right?"

"Well yeah, but we need to get use to a schedule Takato. No one wants to have you falling asleep on the first day."

I got a bit flustered and flared up, "I would never...I think."

"Yeah yeah, but I bet you'd have just as dorky a face as you did just a moment again." Kai grinned while pushing his finger against my cheek.

"Dorky!?" I shouted and went to grab the pillow behind me. As I was about to give it a quick toss at Kai, he grabbed my hand and pushed me back into the pillow.

"Nope! That's not going to work on me. Did you really think you'd out maneuver me?" He stuck his tongue out and took the first pillow and gently smacked me on the face...Twice..."Ouch"...make that three times. He was into his forth swing when I rolled on my side and gave him a sort of side tackle.

 **Bam!  
**  
We both hit the other side of the bed and kind of laid there in a daze...then laughed and started to get up out of bed.

I stood there and stretched for a few moments while Kai made the bed. I guess he felt bad about having been rough housing on it. I looked around to see the room as normal as usual. Two beds on opposite sides of the room. Two desks. One dresser with a large mirror on top of it. One TV with a WiiUltra...Nintendo really needs a better naming scheme. The room itself was painted green but overall was pretty bare. Kai had a few pictures of surfers on the wall. I never really felt like putting much up except one picture of me, my friends, and our digimon from back in the day.

"Come on lets get a move on" Kai gently nudged me after finishing with the bed.

I complained with a yawn and said, "Ugh, its way too early man."

"Here" Kai came up to me and gave me a stack of clothes. "Go take a shower so we can head out."

A bit perplexed I asked, "Where are we going?"

"The main land of course! This isn't practice if we don't actual get use to the journey!" Kai gave me another nudge on the side.

I sat back down on the bed and put the clothes next to me on the bed. I let another long yawn escape before saying, "Just five more minutes?" I gave a sly wink to try and appeal to some form of mercy.

Kai grinned, "N-o-p-e"

Just a moment later I'm being carried to the bathroom and dropped off in the shower. I stood there a moment and just kinda stared around blankly. Kai seemed excited today.

"Need me to take your clothes off too?" Kai smirked while resting his hands on the sides of my boxers.

"No, I've got th-" I started to say while I felt those boxers pulled down. Guess it wasn't really a question. Turning red and a jolted by the suddenness, I just let him take them off. Kai gave me a quick look up and down and gave me a sly smile, "make sure to wash the little elephant!"

With that he turned on the shower and bolted out of the room with my boxers in his hand. I stood there a little shocked... but I'd gotten use to some of Kai's antics. We see each other naked often enough sharing a room and bathroom, so its not like I was that surprised. As I felt the water warming up all I could say to myself was, "I wish he would have let me take my shirt off first..."

I took off the soaked shirt and threw it on the floor. As I started my shower I heard Kai say, "I'm going to hang this up outside!" I just ignored it and focused on the amazingly hot shower.

* * *

I rushed away from the bathroom, boxers and soaked shirt in hand. I tossed the boxers in the shared laundry basket of our room, then walked outside to hang Takato's dripping shirt on the clothesline. I then went to check on grandpa in his room. Tiptoeing next to his door, I slightly opened it and used my cellphones light to see if he was awake yet.

Standing there for just a moment I saw him just laying still and snoring softly. I closed the door and made my way to the kitchen to start breakfast. I'd already gotten most of the things together earlier. I ended up waking up at...I think it was around three. I had decided to make Takato a special breakfast every morning up until school starts. Since this was the first day I was making some chocolate chip waffles, his absolute favorite breakfasty food.

I reached the kitchen and took the mix I'd already gotten together and placed it inside the waffle iron. I took the time while it was cooking to get us both cups of cold milk and to get some breakfast sausage cooking in a small pan.

With both of those cooking, I also snapped off two bananas from bunch and placed them next to our plates. Finishing up the first waffle I laid it out on his plate and went to make my own. It was at this point that I heard the shower water stop. I quickly finished the last waffle as well as the sausages. I placed my waffle on my plate, arranged the sausages equally on both plates, and then took out the syrup and placed it on the table.

"Perfect"

I went towards the bathroom and took a pile of clothes I had placed next to the door to get changed before eating breakfast and heading out.

* * *

I was in the middle of drying my hair with a towel when I saw Kai come into the bathroom carrying a set of clothes. I didn't say anything to him and just continued to dry myself off while he took off his clothes next to the bathroom mirror.

Kai was really amazing, just looking at him now, his body was well toned and very tan. He did spend a large amount of time either in the ocean or on a boat so I guess this could be expected. I joked with him sometimes that he was actually born part fish. I noticed that his tan was all over his body, but I guess its not weird to think he would swim around naked. On our side of the island there was really nobody around.

Standing next to him and looking in the mirror I noticed how much our bodies were opposites of each other. He was muscular and I was slim. He was tanned and I was rather white. He was tall at about six feet tall and I was short at about five foot two inches. His hair was long dark brown with a short pony tail in the back while mine was shortish light brown.

The other big difference was in how developed our bodies had gotten. He had plenty of hair around his crotch and under his arms, he even had some on his chest. I know he shaved a few times a week already. Me on the other hand...I think I only shaved once a month and most of the time its just for my own satisfaction. The rest of my body except a small amount around my penis is completely bare of any hair.

The last difference was in that "elephant region." His was much bigger than mine. I don't know if his was big for the average guy our age or if mine was just really small, but he often would joke and lightly tease me about the size. The only real similarity we shared was that we were both uncircumcised. Even in that we were still rather different, as Kai had a lot more excess foreskin on his penis than I had on mine.

Looking in the mirror it was rather pitiful to see such a stark difference between the two of us. I hoped that my body would develop more soon as I hate feeling so...left behind. I see this difference almost daily. At the same time, I was proud of my cousin. I don't really have an idea of what other guys would look like, but I imagine Kai would be one of the better looking guys for his age. I closed my eyes and gave a slight smile.

"What are you standing here naked thinking about while smiling in at yourself in the mirror?" Kai asked teasingly while bumping into my side.

"Your truly amazing Kai" I quickly responded.

"Th-hank you." Kai stammered out, shyly blushing.

I let out a small sight as I started to get dressed, "Man, what I would do for a body like yours."

"Well," Kai began while putting on his shirt, "all you have to do is come out fishing with me instead of staying inside playing games and using the computer."

"Give up my games?!" I responded with a fake sense of surprise.

"The chicks dig a nice tanned body" Kai responded quickly and shot me a wink.

I gave him a nudge on his side after finishing getting dressed, "How would you know, the only girls we see are the young ones that were in the elementary school."

I jokingly stuck my tongue out at him and quickly left the bathroom. Kai said something back to me, but I was already out of the room and heading to the laundry basket. The smell quickly hit me, delicious chocolate chip waffles...and...I sniffed the air slightly trying to distinguish the different scents...some breakfast assuages...I think.

I quickly ran to our room, threw Kai's clothes at our laundry basket...missed...whatever...I headed to the kitchen and saw the breakfast spread. There was also a banana! Well its not like I was going to smell a banana from the hallway. I took my seat and waited for Kai. The amazing smell kept making my mouth water and I don't think I could wait much longer.

I spent the time waiting by cutting up my waffles and pouring an overly generous portion of syrup all over them. At this point it was probably a 50/50 waffle to syrup ratio.

"Hurry up Kai!" I shouted.

* * *

"I'm just going to get a pair of socks from the room," I lightly shouted back. That idiot was going to wake up Grandpa with how loud he is being. I got to our room and saw my dirty clothes littered around our laundry basket. "Helpless," I quietly said while showing a small smirk. I picked up the clothes and put them in the basket properly. Grabbing a pair of socks, I went to the kitchen. I can't keep him waiting.

"Alright!" I spoke loudly to get his attention. I moved to the seat next to him and gave him a quick glance. He was concentrating, it was as if he was analyzing how he was going to eat every single piece of waffle. His plate was covered in a thick syrup. I'm not sure if he was like this before, but after moving to my house he had developed a rather strong sweet tooth.

He looked up from his plate and gave me a wide smile. I returned it and we both gave an "itadakimasu!" Before digging in.

I knew this was his favorite breakfast food, but he did not start shoveling it into his mouth. Rather, Takato was carefully taking each syrup drenched bite and slowly chewing it in his mouth. I could see his eyes light up with the first bite. It gave me a bit of an awesome feeling. That feeling you get when you give someone a gift and you can see they genuinely loved it.

"Thnkcufu" Takato garbled out, trying to speak with a mouthful of waffle.

"No problem!" I let out an energetic reply and started to eat my own food. Whereas Takato was the careful slow eater, I was very much so a shovel-er. Takato had finished three small cut bites when I was half done with the waffle and pushing one of the sausages into my mouth. Grandpa always scolds me about these poor table manners, but when I'm with just Takato I let loose.

Finishing first, I clutched my stomach to make it seem like I was stuffed. I felt something on my face and looked over to Takato wiping some syrup off with a napkin.

"Th-thank you." I responded slightly looking down while blushing.  
He just gave me a bright smile and worked on finishing the rest of his meal. If he ate as slow as usual, he was going to make us late every morning...but...today is alright. Today is a special day since I made him his favorite breakfast.

I downed the rest of my milk and went to start washing the dishes. We would usually talk a bit in the morning, but I could see that Takato was indulging in his food so I just let the silence continue. I turned on the warm water and starting to clean the dirty dishes from last night and this morning.

Taking this time, I organized my thoughts for the rest of the day. We were going to get to the boat at about 6: 30am, get to the main land at about 7:00am. Walk to the school, which should get us there by roughly 7:15am. We'll see how long it actual takes. Part of this practice is to see if the times matches well. We need to be at school by about 7: 30am, although we can make it as late as 7:45am. However, neither me nor Takato liked being anywhere at the last minute.

After that we would go around the main land for a while. I have a small grocery list that grandpa gave me, but we'll save getting those things right before we return to the ferryboat. We need to hit up a bookstore to get a few supplies for next week...we also need to pick up our uniforms from the clothing store...hmm...then maybe the zoo...and lunch...after that we'll start to look at returning. I'll ask him at that point if there is anything he wants to do.

I gave myself a quick grin. I heard Takato get up and bring his dishes to the sink.

"Let me wash these, you've done enough already." He complained while trying to gently push me out of place.

Standing firmly on the ground, "No no no, don't worry I've got this." I shot him a bright smile and took the dishes from him. He stood there for a moment but didn't argue. He instead took this time to go back to our room.

From the hallway I heard him shout, "I'm going to send Rika an e-mail!"

"Sure!" I responded back and went back to the cleaning.

I finished up rather quickly, he only headed a handful of dishes. Most of the time I was the one who did the cleaning. This was for two reasons. First, both Takato and grandpa suck at it. Second, grandpa buys the food, and usually Takato cooks. I know how to make a few things, but I guess Takato felt like he needed to contribute to the household, so he learned to cook. His cooking is always delicious...He would make a wonderful wife. I made a wide grin on that thought. "Mine" I whispered to myself.

I stopped the water, and left the dishes to dry. I took out a small hand towel and dried my hands off. Takato was going to take maybe five or so minutes to e-mail his friend back in Tokyo. Rika was the only one he had managed to stay close friends with. They had been e-mail buddies this whole time. Grandpa got Takato a cell phone for his birthday this year so I'm sure they text some too.

I asked Takato before if he preferred texting to an e-mail and he told me that he felt like he could express himself easier in a long e-mail. Although he loved the quickness of a text message. I think he did not want to burden our plan with excessive texts so he did it rarely.

Of his other friends I can say they stopped coming to see him within the first year. Rika only came last about two years ago, but her family situation has apparently made it hard for her to travel lately. The others however just stopped coming. I know it hurt Takato...it was really at this point that I decided I'd keep him close to me. I'm never going to be inconsistent. I'll always help take care of him and clean up his messes. He was theirs, but they gave him up, he is now...MINE.

With this thought, I was reminded of one little annoyance. I walked over to the closet, opened the door, and fished around for something I'd hidden there earlier. I took out a letter that we received two weeks ago. It was addressed to Takato and it was from Henry Wong...the dark skinned, blue haired boy from back in Takato's digimon days. I'm pretty sure he use to be Takato's best friend.

 **BANG**

I punched my hand against the inside of the closet. "Fucking traitor." Henry was the first to stop talking with Takato. He was so close to Takato too! "Fucker" How could he just drop that relationship...it angers me so much. At the same time, if he hadn't left I don't know if I would have been able to make Takato mine...

I took the letter out of the envelope and decided to reread what was written there.

* * *

Dear Takato,

Hey! How have you been? I'm sorry I have not been able to keep in touch. I know you've sent me a few e-mails over the past few years...life was rough for me for a bit and I ended up cutting off everyone. I know this sucked for you who had gone away from everyone. The only friend that I was able to keep was Rika and she has kept me updated on how you were from time to time.

Look, I'm very very very very sorry. I know I don't deserve to be forgiven, but if you can find it in yourself to, please consider it. I'd like to be friends again. I went through that awful teen angsty stage but I think I am a much more stable person now. I wouldn't expect our relationship to be the same as before, but I'd really appreciate it if we could at least start over.

My family is moving. My dad got a new tech job down in Okinawa so we are moving down there this week. I told Rika about this and she told me that I was actually going to the same school as you. I wanted to try and patch things up before we had an awkward meeting. I thought about e-mailing you or calling you, but I thought you might ignore those, so I found this letter to be my best option.

Anyways, I hope to be able to be friends again and to have a fun high school life. Rika told me you are going to join the cooking club right away. She also said you mentioned that Kai was joining the archery club. I'm planning to run right away for the student council. I'd like to be in it every year and puff up my resume. I hope me, you, and Kai can be good friends Takato!

See you in April!

Sincerely, Henry Wong.

* * *

I felt like tearing the letter to tiny shreds. Tear it up and toss it in the ocean to be lost forever. I hated Henry. That fucker who abounded Takato. What a dick. But, I couldn't destroy the letter. At the same time I couldn't give it to Takato. O man...what to do what to do! I ran my hand around my hair frustrated to myself. I didn't like hiding this from Takato...but I'm worried he will patch things up. I'm with him always, but I know he wants more friends...I don't...I can't lose him.

I'm fine with him making some friends in high school. The isolation of this island will still keep him rooted as mine. But Henry...not him. Please not him Takato. Hopefully were in different classes. I'd hate to act like I'm friends with that fricken jerk face.

This sucks...I got myself in a bad mood before were about to head out...I put the letter back in the envelope and carefully hid it.

 **BAM**

I gave the inside of the closet one more good punch. I looked up at the wall and saw a dozen holes inside. Fuck...Grandpa will be pissed when he finds this. I closed the the door and went to check if Takato was ready to leave.

* * *

I was finishing typing the e-mail when Kai entered the door.

"Ya ready?" He asked

"Let me just read over this and send it. Give me...two minutes." I gave him the peace sign with a wide smile. He nodded and left. Did he seem upset? Well he didn't argue so lets look this e-mail over.

* * *

Hey Rika!

How is it going? I think I last messaged you on Friday, but I have had a pretty slow weekend. Me and Kai went fishing...played some games...read a few books...napped a bunch. I'm writing to you know and its...lets see...almost 6:20am. Kai gave me a pretty sudden morning wake up call. A pillow to the face! I wish he had told me he planned for us to start getting up early this week! Kai made the morning really easy and even made my favorite breakfast food! Mmmm chocolate chip waffles!

I had a dream today, I barely remember it, but I know I saw you guys and Guilmon in it. It made me feel really sad. I don't really know how I'd have managed everything without Kai. Hes really amazing ya know! He catches some fish almost everyday! Plus, he and grandpa maintain a small garden of fresh veggies. Like you know, I've really been into learning how to cook and there is nothing more amazing than being able to use such fresh ingredients!

I guess this week is going to be a bit tiring. Waking up at 5am everyday? I know its necessary since we have to take the ferryboat to get to the mainland, but man...I wish the high school was next door! The school before only had me and Kai around our age so I'm excited and nervous to meet some new friends. The school gave us special permission to have me and Kai in the same class due to my anxiety. We will also get a seat next to each other. It will be good to have him there, I think I'd freeze up otherwise. Having at least person I know at school will hopefully make things go smoother.

How are things with your family? Did the tensions with your mother ease up at all since your last e-mail Friday night? How is Tokyo? How is...everyone? Still getting along with your boyfriend?

Ahhh, Kai is coming so I'll end the e-mail here! Hope you have a good day! I'll tell you how our day goes later!

Peace! Takato

* * *

"Annnnnnnnnnd" I pointed my finger up and dramatically clicked the mouse button, "SEND!"

I heard a snicker and looked at the door to see Kai there wearing a small backpack.

"Come on you dork." He gave me a sly smile, motioned towards the front door, and left.

I quickly went after him, quickly placing my shoes on, closing the door behind us and heading outside. The sun was already rising but it was still not all that bright. The path to the docks was covered in a dense pass of trees so it actually felt rather dark. Thinking about how only in one week I'd be going to school with all those other guys. I stopped moving for a moment almost terrified at the thought.

Kai grabbed my hand and held it without saying anything. His hand was so warm...it gave me enough strength to walk on past the anxiety. I'd normally be embarrassed if someone held my hand like this, but I guess with Kai it felt fine. I'd let go when we are about to reach the ferryboat, I don't want others thinking Kai is weird or anything.

As we neared the boats, I went to take my hand back. Kai noticed and gave it a tight squeeze while giving me a reassuring smile. I doubt he knew what I was anxious but he was always able to keep me grounded in reality. Thank goodness hes here for me.

Clearing through the tree filled passage, the sun suddenly hit our eyes and I lifted my hand to shield them slightly. After a few seconds I managed to get use to the suns glare and saw the dock with the boats around them. It wasn't too busy, but I saw the ferryboat was about to leave so we both ran towards it.


	3. Chapter 3

If there is anything that is great about living out here compared to the city it has to be the sea. I looked out over the water and saw the barely rising sun in the horizon. You could see the rays pouring over the sea and making it glisten. The water here tended to have such a strong blue color to it; however, this morning light twisted it into a beautiful emerald green. The entire expanse of water looked as if it were filled with extravagant glimmering marbles. The light seemed to lead all the way up to our boat and shine on Kai.

It was in a moment like this where Kai seemed to be most in his element. Thinking about it, I remember clearly asking Kai why he loved it out here so much. At that time he took my hand and bolted off to the shore with me in tow. Carefully climbing up one of the large rocks there, he just spread his arms out and motioned towards the sea. Before I could say anything more, he had taken my hand once more and leaped out into the water bringing me down with him. We quickly surfaced back up and I saw him with the widest grin just laughing before diving under the water and swimming away. I was swimming there, fully clothed and soaked, thinking about how uncomfortable I felt. But Kai, at that moment, looked natural and at peace.

I learned to really enjoy everything about living here from his influence. When I lived back in the city, helping out at the bakery and playing games was all I did...and all I felt I needed to do. But out here, it almost made me feel like I'd wasted so much time...almost. I still play games all the time, but I think I have at least have grown a respect for nature and being out in it.

I was currently sitting in the boat as we approached the mainland docks. Kai had been up moving about the boat for a while. I could see him leaning on the railing looking deep towards the horizon. He would also walk around and talk to the various fishermen who were going to bring some fresh fish to various stores. I could hear them talking, but the exact details were over my head. I did not know the technical expertise to fishing nor how the fishing market fluctuated from day to day.

I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes, trying to convince myself to not accidentally fall asleep. I could feel the boat's speed dramatically slow and finally stop as we docked.

* * *

Wow, this might actually be amazing going to school by boat everyday. The speed, the smell, the amazing glow of the sea...I don't think there would be a better way to start each day.

When the boat finally stopped moving, I jumped straight off the side onto the wooden dock nearby. I was about to take off down towards the entrance when it dawned on me that I still needed to wait for Takato to come over.

I shouted, "Takato come on!"

Takato got out of his seat and looked over the railing. He looked rather tired now, I guess the boat ride that had given me energy had managed to calm and tire him.

I pointed towards the space next to me and said, "Come on, Jump!"

Takato gave me a questioning look and responded right away, "I...I'll wait until we get closer."

Well...I guess I should have expected as much. While he was being a digimon tamer his courage had greatly risen, but after he got separated from everyone he has had a hard time being brave again. That is why he needs me. I could jump right back over to the boat, pick him up,and jump back without any problems.

"Alright alright" I responded while waving my hand and walking a bit further up wooden path.

The boat slowly got closer to the dock and Takato lowered himself down. Stretching a little bit, he finally decided to make his way over to me with a little jog.

Producing a huge grin, Takato remarked, "That was a really nice ride Kai. I could see myself getting an extra twenty minutes of sleep during that."

I took my hand and pinched his cheek playfully, "No way! You have to keep my company!"

"Awa, bwut yow hav-" he tried to say something but it was a bit too muffled from the twisted cheek so I let him go.

"Wait, start over."

Slightly rubbing his cheek he said, "But you have the sea and the fishermen to keep you company!"

I rubbed the back of my head and quietly said, "But they aren't as cute as you are..."

"What was that? Its not like you to be so quiet." He gave me a gentle nudge.

I quickly blushed and tried to think of something to say, "I won't want to talk to them everyday...old fishermen tend to talk about the same thing everyday."

"Ooooo, so I guess I'm just someone to talk to when your bored huh?" He playfully responded.

"No," I quickly blurted out, "Your my important cousin, its always fun to be with you."

Takato stepped backwards, seemingly taken a little bit off guard so I tried to quickly change the tone of the conversation back to a more playful one. "Even if he is just a big sleepyhead." I ruffled his hair a bit and ran the rest of the way down.

* * *

Kai ran away from me leaving me with disheveled hair. I quickly patted it back down and started to jog after him. I try not to push the issue too much, but Kai always seems to get really defensive when I talk down about myself. Just seems like it triggers some sort of strong emotion in him for some reason.

Anyways, I finally caught up to him at the entrance so he signaled me to come over and walk with him on our first trip to school.

"Are we actually going to be doing anything at school Kai?

"Nope. We are just going to time ourselves and see how long it takes us to walk."

With that statement, Kai looked down at his cellphone and started up a stopwatch app. He often uses that one when he goes fishing by himself to try and set a personal record. Its pretty cool how he is consistently striving to improve. Had he lived somewhere else, he might have been one of those very efficient and motivated students.

"So then...what will we do after this? The first boat doesn't go back to the island until much later...early afternoon I think."

"Well..." Kai started while reaching into his pocket and pulling out a piece of paper. "We need to go to Noble Books to pick up some school supplies...and...lets see...we also need to pick up our uniforms at Lea's Linens...then.." his voice started to trail off.

"Then what? That shouldn't take too long and we will still have plenty of time to do stuff."

"Well I was...you see..." His face started to brighten up a bit while he fumbled over his words.

I was about to ask him to clarify what he wanted when he blurted it out, "The zoo!"

And by blurted it out, I mean everyone around us turned their head and looked at us. The stares were making Kai a bit more nervous and he was noticeably getting even redder in the face.

"Well...what do you think this is a date?" I nudged him and gave him a wink to try and lighten the mood.

"No no no," he quickly defended while steeping a few paces in front of me. "I uh...just thought it would be fun, plus it will take up the rest of our time. Plus we can get something to eat there!" Kai was desperately trying to regain his composure. I don't really understand why he got so worked up over it though.

"I was just kidding, lets go! It sounds fun!" I stepped past Kai and quickened my steps.

* * *

Wow...I mean he was just kidding right. How did he know I was trying to make this feel like a date...he had to be kidding. Sure it was a date only to my benefit since he would not know, but well still I guess he just got me by surprise.

I quickly gave myself a light slap on the face and went to catch up to Takato who had gotten about fifteen steps in front of me. We are actually getting pretty close to the school so when I caught up to him I thought we would walk in silence for a while.

I took this time to look around. On a normal school day we will likely see many other students walking the same way as us, but for now there was almost no one around. It looked like a few mothers taking their kids out for a morning walk or maybe to daycare. Overall it was very quiet and felt refreshing. A gentle wind was pressing against our face and it felt relaxing. Being so close to the sea you could still smell the water from here.

As we were approaching the school building the outward features came into view. First was the large wall surrounding the entire perimeter of the school. A large grayish wall made out of solid stone blocks. It had a brick like texture to it and looked very sturdy. Next would be the two gates leading into the school. One was the front entrance that students coming by foot would go into. This gate was directly in front of the school buildings main entrance past the front lawn. The second gate was to the side and was where students arriving by bikes would go to secure their bicycles.

The actual school buildings were inside the gated area. It had one large main school building that was about three stories tall. Then there was one separate gymnasium where many of the sports and sport related classes would be. Both were made many years ago and were a very drab light and dark gray pattern. It seems they had recently discussed repainting the school into more lively colors but the budget did not allow for it...or so grandpa told me.

The buildings were pretty boring but the front lawn to the school was well kept. There were many flowers in bloom, the grass was well cut, a few shrubs were groomed, and a dozen or so trees of various small sizes covered the area. It gave off a calm and relaxing appearance against the bleakness that was the school building.

We stopped by the locked gate and looked in.

"Well...It really doesn't look like much does it Takato?"

I stood there and waited for a reply I looked over at him and noticed he had a giant smile on his face.

"Takato?"

"Finally!" he looked at me and gave me an even brighter smile.

"Finally what man?"

"I think in a boring school like this...I can make some new friends." He looked back towards the school and gave off a hopeful expression.

"Well...I hope so too, but you always have me here if you need it."

"I know..." He continued to look towards the school and once more said, "I know."

After a long pause I checked my cell phone and saw we were at about fifteen minutes. I turned off the app and motioned for Takato to follow me toward the stores.

* * *

I was almost forced out the door while my father pushed my little sister out of our new apartment building. I stumbled a few steps forward but regained my balanced and turned around to see my father and sister locking the door.

"Alright Henry do you have everything you need."

Nervously I placed my hand in my jean pockets and fiddled around checking on what items I had with me. "I think so."

"I'm taking your sister to finish enrolling in her new school then we are going to go stop by my work to get a few things done. We should be back home around three in the afternoon." He gave off these directions quickly while checking to make sure my sister brought some toys to play with in her backpack.

"Ok, I'm going to pick up my uniform and check out a few other stores in the area so I'll be back in the afternoon before you get back." My father gave me a small smile and nodded. I turned around and headed down the stairs first, leaving them behind.

I was still pretty tired but it felt like an amazing morning. The cool wind and the pleasant small of the sea gave this day a really relaxing feeling. Its only been about two weeks since my family moved in here so I am not completely sure on how to get around, so part of heading out today will be to explore some more.

I quickly checked my cell phone and noticed a few notifications from Rika. I slid my figure across the screen to read the messages.

7:04am Rika: Hey how is your morning going?

7:23am Rika: Did you not send a letter to Takato?

I guess I missed her messages while I was getting ready for the morning. But the letter I sent Takato...I sent that letter over a month ago.

7:33am Henry: Why are you bringing that up? I thought he just ignored it. Did he say something to you?

I walked a bit and was about to make a million guesses as to why she would bring it up now when I suddenly heard the song "Days" by flow coming from my pocket. I pulled out my cell phone and immediately answered it.

"Hey Rika, how are you doing?"

"I'm fine but wait, I called for a reason, I don't have much time here!"

"Sure wh-" I began to say when I was quickly interrupted.

"No, I'll do all the talking real fast."

She took a big breathe of air in and started to quickly talk, "Takato has not once mentioned the letter to me. Today he talked about meeting new friends at school but again did not mention you. I did not want to bring it up with him yet, but I don't think he should ignore the fact that you will be there even if he dislikes you currently. But I just wanted to make sure you sent the letter. Did you get the address right? Why don't you just call him?"

"Wow wait...that was too fast" I took a moment to process everything she had said and started to reply to each statement. "I am sure that I have the right address. I triple checked it with you and my parents."

I stumbled about with my next statement, "And well...I don't know if I could talk to him right now...I feel like everything would be really awkward. Plus if he threw away the letter-"

"There is no way he would throw it out, that is just not like Takato."

"But maybe he really does hate me, you see I-"

"No no no, if he hated you I would have at least heard about it once or twice by now."

"But well he has Kai there right? Maybe he only talked to him about it an-"

"Kai is Takato's hero and all that, but Takato does not like to tell Kai about his more inward struggles, he told me that he talks to me about them since I'll give him a caring unbiased opinion."

"So he said that you are bluntly honest?"

"Well he wrote up a whole paragraph trying to say that but yes that is the short of it."

I did not really know what to think about what she was saying but the idea of calling him now did not seem too out of the ordinary.

"I guess the letter got lost in the mail?"

"Maybe...hmm"

"What are you thinking Rika?"

"That I'm out of time Henry!"

I could hear her family now talking loudly in the background.

"Call him! Have a good day."

CLICK

The phone went silent and I stopped on the street to place it back in my pocket.

Should I call him? Man this is getting a bit more complicated. I do want him to know about me before he gets shocked by seeing me at school. But I am nervous too. If he hates me its one thing, but to just completely act like I do not exist is awful.

I wanted to debate this a bit more with myself but I arrived at my first destination, Lea's Linens, to pick up my uniform. I opened the door and entered. The place was empty except one middle aged women going through some papers behind a counter.

I gave the place a quick look around. It was not a clothes store but more a fabric store. The one thing they also specialized in was custom made orders such as class uniforms as well as tailoring clothing. On the main floor of the store were various fabrics. Some were solid colors, others were geometric patterns, and further down the isle there were some with pictures and specialized designs on them. On the walls on shelves were supplies that go along with the clothing such a needles, thread, buttons, and even a few sewing machines.

Compared to outside, this store felt pretty stuffy and cluttered. It was well kept but the nature of all the different cloth patterns made the store feel a bit haphazardly decorated. I made my way past the aisle of fabrics to arrive at the counter.

The lady at the counter gave me a bright smile, "Good morning! Welcome to Lea's Linens. My name is Michele, is there anything I could help you with?"

"Yeah, umm," I took out a receipt from my pocket, "I came here to pick up my uniform."

The worker looked over my receipt, "Ok Henry, I will go get it in the back." She walked towards a door that seemed to lead to the back stock of the store. Before she entered she turned around and asked, "What school is the uniform for?"

"Nami High School"

"Thanks"

She went into the back and I decided to check my phone again. One notification.

7:44am Rika: Give him a call :(

I typed quickly to reply back to her.

7:46am Henry: I'm thinking about it. Picking up my uniforms right now.

I put the phone back in my pocket and looked at some of the nearby fabric. The one that caught my eye was a bright rose like red color. I'm not sure why, maybe because Guilmon was red, but I always associated this color with Takato. I think things would have been very different for me and him if our digimon had been able to stick around.

"Henry?" I heard the question from behind me.

I turned around to see the employee bring out a few sets of uniforms.

"Umm, I should only have two sets I believe."

"Oooo," The women blushed a bit embarrassed, "Sorry these other four are for two students who should be coming in this morning as well. You might even know them." She went on with her story, " Actually the one boy called and said that he and his cousin would be picking up these clothes today. Its pretty unusual for a boy to call and make the arrangement, it is almost always the mother."

"Well actually I just moved here so I am pretty sure I will not know much anyone from the school." I nervously replied trying to ignore how awkward it felt.

"Is that so?" She put the other four uniforms on the counter where she was working. "But you never know right?"

I gave a small fake laugh and replied, "Well that's true, anything could happen."

"Ok, just a moment, let me have you sign this receipt."

She gave me a freshly printed piece of paper that simply said I had picked up the two uniforms from the store. After signing she tore off one copy and put it in the register and returned another copy to me.

"Let me just cut these tags off and you will be good to go!" She loudly said while going to the back stock once more.

I took this time to think a little bit more about what Rika had said. I personally did not like to leave things undetermined for so long as it is. I guess I will call him after I get home. I don't even know why I'd been putting it off already.

She came back through the door with a small handhold machine to remove the tags off the clothing. With two clicks they were removed and she handed them over to me. "Thank you." I quickly mentioned.

"Thank you for your business. Hope you have a good day." She said while giving me a final smile.

I turned around to leave the store and get away from the chatty store employee so I could think, but I heard her say from behind me, "Let's hope you can become good friends with...lets see..." she gave the other four sets of uniforms a look, "Kai and Takato."

* * *

"Come on you slow poke!"

"Kai...slow down" A tired Takato tried to say in between huge gasps air.

Me and Takato had been running toward the clothing store for some time. I thought running might distract Takato a little bit. He seemed happy about going to school but I don't want him to think about being lonely or anything.

"We are almost there."

I started to slow down my speed to match his current pace.

"Alright you win. Can we stop running now."

I gave him a pat on the back, "You can't catch any fish if stop running Takato."

He looked up at me and gave a cheerful smile, "You don't run to catch fish!"

"Well" I started and returned to him an impish grin, "What if that fish is a Takato?"

"Hey wait, I'm not a fish! Plus you were ahead of me the whole time!" He puffed up his cheeks pretending to be offended.

I ruffled his hair a bit and retorted, "I caught you a long time ago" I stuck out my tongue and jogged a few steps up to the store.

I looked around and did not see anyone in or around the store. Takato tends to get anxious in tight spaces with a lot of people so I try to see how he might handle a situation before we get to it. As Takato approached, I offered my hand to him, "I only see the worker in there, want to come in with me? Or do you want to stay out here?"

Takato paused and thought about it for a moment, "How old is she."

I gave her a quick once over and replied back, "Middle aged I guess. She looks like she might be a bit chatty."

"What makes you say that?"

"I duno. The aura she gives off? Intuition? Something along those lines"

Takato gave a small laugh but thought for a moment more.

"I think I'll stay out there. I don't want to get caught up in a long conversation with a stranger."

"Alright." I started to enter the store, "I"ll be right back."

* * *

I saw the first guy enter the store. I don't know why I'm hiding behind the corner of the store but this might be them. Two guys...I cannot really see what they look like but I swear the one still outside is Takato. I'm too far to see though.

Ok...what should I do what should I do? Would it be weird to go see him? I was going to call him but talking in person might be better...alright.

I stood up and was about to move towards the guy at the entrance to Lea's Linens but instead I put my hand in my pocket and puled out my phone. I quickly started to call Rika.

"Hey I need-"

"Why are you calling? I told you I was going to be busy Henry. You know sometimes you are-"

"Yeah" I quickly interrupted her, "I need your advice for a moment so can you just chill for a moment."

She was quiet for a moment and then relented, "Ok what do you need?"

Well, I peered to make sure the boy was still there, "I think I'm looking at Takato right now."

"Wait what? Did you go to his house?"

"No no no, I'm looking at him from...I'm outside...around the corner of the store looking at him"

"What is this now, your a stalker?!" She said loudly.

"No well...not really but it sure feels like it right now. This is just a chance meeting."

"Well you want to know if I think you should go talk to him?"

I paused for a moment, "Yeah, something like that."

"Sure. I think it would be ok. Just get this over with and see how things go."

"Awesome, that is what I hoped you would say. Thanks for the help."

I started to put my cell phone away and could only hear the muffled sound of Rika, "But make sure Kai is with him or he might have a panic attack-"

CLICK

I walked out of my hiding spot and started to make my way to this guy. I realized I am walking at a fast pace because I'm nervous but this might freak someone out. He looks over at me and seems to be in shock but one thing is for sure now...a little bit older but, this is definitely Takato.

* * *

What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? Is this Henry? He is just standing there. Does he want to say something. Wait. Yes. He looks so much older but its undeniably Henry. Shit. I stopped breathing. Where is Kai?

I looked around nervously but realized I could not move. I could it feel approaching already. The edges of my vision were getting blurry, my heart started to rapidly beat, I could feel and hear my pulse running through my body. I felt light headed and my vision started to get slightly fuzzy. The panic was washing over me.

No no no, I can't faint here. I can't pass out right in front of Henry. Everyone will see me fall over. I can't do it, it would be too embarrassing. I need to get out of here! I have to escape! I dug my nails into my hands and thought about how to get out of this situation.

"Takato, hey I-"

I bolted the other way and started running as fast as I could away from Henry.


	4. Chapter 4, The Chase

Wait what? Did that just happen? I stood there looking out as Takato ran at a blistering pace away from me. Why...why did he do that? Does he really hate me that much? Should I chase after him? As these thoughts clouded my mind I saw him duck into the alleyway behind Lea's Linens. Well, if I don't start running now there is no chance I'll catch up.

I guess I will start...this chase.

I immediately went into a sprint to try and make up for the gap in space between us. I'm already not familiar with this whole area, if I lose my visual contact with Takato there is no way I'll be able to find him later. There are too many questions going around in my head...I want to know why he is running away for one. I guess the simple reason would be that he hates me. He never seemed like he could express how he felt openly. Takato would be the kind of guy who would bottle those emotions away and stress out over them.

I made a mad dash into the alleyway behind the store. A few boxes were lined along the left wall's edge and I made sure to not trip over any of them. Tripping up here would lose me some valuable time and I have to catch up. I want to at least make things clear between us. I hate having the situation be so...so confusing. If I don't get to him now everything will just get worse.

I could see Takato at a split in the alleyway. He looked left, right, and then behind him. His expression was too hard to see from where I was, but it seemed like after he looked back at me he grew tense. But, the fact that he had paused to pick a direction gave me time to catch up. After a moment he decided to go left and made off down the path. I could not see him any longer so I need to up my pace some here.

Takato had been an amazing friend to me just about five years ago. With me and him together, we had many adventures with our digimon and learned to become great friends. I hated that he had to leave...but I hated that I threw my friendship away after he was gone. I want to apologize...I need to explain. Please let me catch up.

I made the left turn and saw Takato make a right turn out into the open street out of the alleyway. I quickly sped up even more to get to him. As I neared the opening to the street I felt my feet start to fall out from under me...a damn shipping box had stumbled onto the path...I guess knocked down when Takato made his turn here. I braced for impact with the ground as I fell head first towards the hard cement. "Fuck" I shouted. Luckily I managed to land with both palms touching the ground. It sure hurt like hell, but I was able to launch myself back into a normal run from that position.

Making it out into the alleyway I saw Takato a good ways forward, he was looking in every which direction around him appearing to try to pick a way to escape. He suddenly looked back and saw me dashing at him again. I could slightly see his expression this time. A look of fear and panic was shown on his face. He took just a moment longer and started to run further down the street. I was definitely faster that he was...if he keeps running in a straight line I'll obviously catch up. What was he thinking? Was he thinking? I kept up my pace after him.

"Why...are you chasing me?" Takato said, between a large exhausted breath of air.

I thought for a moment but couldn't come up with a logical reason on the spot. "Because your running away."

"Wait...what" He began, "That doesn't...make sense, stop chasing me."

I maintained my speed and said, "I can't"

"Why?" He shot back at me, trying to increase his speed but seemingly having a hard time at accelerating.

"Because!" I said

"That's not a reason-" He made to say something else, but his foot lifted off the ground wrong and he made a hard smack against the sidewalk.

It only took me a moment to finally get to where he was. I gave him a quick look over. He had landed pretty roughly, his nose was bleeding and there was a large scrape on his arm. Smell pellets of blood were surfacing on his skin but he seemed to be in more shock than pain. His hair was disheveled from the running and fall he just had. The rest of him...looked fine. He looked almost like that young boy I once knew just bigger...and slightly more mature.

"Ouch. Ouch! Ouch!" Takato said out loud in front of me. I got a clear look at his face now. Besides the redness on his face from the impact and the blood sliding down from his nostrils, he was also crying. I don't know if he had just started, but now...closely looking at him. I could see that some tears had dried. He had been crying the whole time we were running. Does he really hate me this much? That even interacting with me would bring him to tears? I need to find out

However, his face caught me off guard and I did not know what to say."Hey..." I started, while reaching into my pocket and pulling out a small band-aid made for cuts. "Maybe this will help."

Takato looked over at the band-aid and then back at the scar on his arm. "I think its...a little small." He sounded somewhat normal, but started to tear up as he finished speaking. The pain was probably starting to really ache now.

I did not really know what to do, he was bleeding heavily from a busted nose and scraped arm. I did not have a handkerchief or anything like that. Wait maybe I could use my shirt!

"I have an idea." Takato looked up at me as I pulled my shirt over my head and took it off. "Use this...I don't mind if it gets dirty." I gave him a gentle smile to try and sooth him into taking it.

He looked at me for a long moment and took the shirt I was offering. "Thank you..." he sad shyly.

"No problem" I said while taking my hand back and looking towards his arm, "want me to help?"

"No no no" he quickly responded, "Its embarrassing."

I nodded and took a seat next to him. The first blazing question in my mind needed to be answered. I cleared my throat and spoke as normally as I could, "Did you get my letter?"

Takato had already wiped the blood clean from his arm and now held the shirt against his nose. His head was tilted back to try and stop the blood flow.

"This hurts like hell ya know."

I was about to ask again when his reply arrived, "What letter?"

"YES!" I shoted, surprising Takato and making him tilt his head down and give me an awkward look. He never got the letter!

"What is this yes about? What letter are you talking about? Why are you even here?" His stream of questions came rapid fire, after which he tilted his head back ready to hear what I had to say.

"Well," I began, scratching the back of my head, "A little over a month ago I sent you a letter."

"OK" I heard him say muffled by my shirt covering his face.

"My family was going to move here to Okinawa since my Dad got a new job. I talked to Rika about it and she told me we would be attending the same high school."

I waited for a moment to see if he would respond or ask any questions, but he remained quiet so I continued. "I know things were left awkward between us and I wanted to explain everything before I saw you at school and freaked you out."

Takato tilted his head down and removed my shirt from his nose. The shirt was fairly blooded from the busted nose but Takato seemed to have finally stopped bleeding. He looked over at me, face covered in dry blood and remnants of dry tears still across his face. He cleared his throat and said, "You could have just called me you know? Or got my e-mail from Rika."

Flustered I responded, "But I thought you still hated me and would ignore it and I talked to Rika and she-"

"I don't hate you." He interrupted. "We've been apart for five years. Its not abnormal to stop seeing old friends over that time...you were not the only one who stopped."

I could see his eyes start to shimmer with tears. I looked down unable to keep making eye contact with him. "I know...but it was wrong. I was wrong. I should have been there for you. I'm-" I started to tear up as well. I had thought a million times what I would say to him if I ever saw him at school and how I might explain the situation but everything was blank now. I did not feel like I deserved to be around him right now.

"I'm just sorry Takato" I let the tears fall down my chin and splatter on the sidewalk. "I know I don't deserve it, but I want to make it up to you...I want to be your friend in high school."

A silence drifted between us. Thank goodness it was still early enough in the day that no one was around, because this dramatic scene was embarrassing to deal with. But it was done. Even if Takato says no, I have made a sort of peace with myself about everything, and I can-

"Sure. Lets be friends at school." Takato said with a slight smile. "I...can't promise it will be like before but I do want to be friends again too."

"Wait" I started to say, confused at his response, "even after what I've done?"

"I already told you its not that abnormal to lose track of friends right?"

"Yeah but my reasons were...wrong" I looked away from Takato, out at the street.

"I'll hear them at some point I'm sure...just tell me...was it because you hated me?"

"NO!" I blurted out, "Nothing like that."

"Was it because I did something wrong?" He continued to question.

"No, I mean, it was all my own fault...with everything I was dealing with I just...ended up distancing myself away from everyone."

"Alright...then its fine. I will prolly seem a bit guarded but lets try being friends again." He gave me a quick smile and offered me his hand to shake.

Overcome with emotions I was still teary eyed and threw my arms around him and gave him a big hug. He tensed in surprise but let me hug him for a few moments.

I stopped and put some distance between us. He finally gave me a look over and said, "Wow, Henry your ripped. What have you been doing?"

Ha, trying to get away from the touchy subject are you? I'll just go with the flow. I flexed my arms and put on a cheesy smile, "I've kept up my martial arts and well I joined the archery club back in middle school. I think I'm taller than you are now."

"Without a doubt" Takato responded. "I bet you could beat me in a fight easily now."

"Like I couldn't before?" I joked.

He laughed and made a quick statement, "Man this is weird."

I tensed up for a moment and asked quietly, "Whats weird?"

He looked over at me and asked, "Did Rika tell you about my anxiety and stuff?"

"No, what anxiety." I asked seriously.

"Well" he began, "At least she is good at keeping secrets."

He stretched out his arms and started to tell me the details, "Over the years...since I had to leave everyone, I've developed a pretty bad anxiety. I get anxious...in public situations. Like a grocery store or a long conversation with a stranger. Its been getting worse and even started to affect me at school."

He looked away at the road as he continued, "Well this year it got so bad we actually went to the hospital because I thought I was having a heart attack. Of course it took about an hour to get there from the island, but the entire time I thought I was going to die. The school even made special exception for me and Kai to be together in the same class and seats this year."

I looked at him and could see the strain on his face as he told me about the situation. He looked over and, after a long pause, continued to speak, "That is why when you approached me it took me off guard...i had a panic attack. Sometimes my reaction is to freeze but I guess this time it was to run." His voice trailed off and he stopped talking.

"Well," I tried to sound as sincere as I could, "I hate that you've had to go through this. I'm glad you were not alone. I hope that...this year is better. Is there anything I can do to help?"

He placed his fingers on his chin and thought for a moment, "Just be my friend...and..." he looked seriously into my eyes, "Don't disappear again, I don't think I could handle it." His eyes shimmered for a moment with tears but quickly went back to their normal appearance.

"OK!" I said, "I can do that."

I gave him a wide smile to try and make the my sentence seem more sincere. As I was about to change the subject I remembered what he said earlier and asked, "What was weird then?"

Takato tensed for a moment after remembering what we were initially talking about, "Well right now I'm not anxious. I don't know if its because of you or because of this pain, but it feels nice."

I laughed. "I guess we should hope its because of me...I'd hate to have to hurt you to give you a few moments of peace." I gave him a sly, playful smile.

He laughed as well and said, "That's true. I hope its because of you too. I also feel like this when I'm with Kai...most of the time."

I thought back to the other guy who went into the store, that most have been Kai. I've only met him a handful of times, but Rika did tell me he has taken good care of Takato. I hope to be good friends with Kai too.

I asked, "Shouldn't we go back to the store? Our chase wasn't that long we should be able to get back there quickly."

Takato sat there thinking for a moment and said, "Let me rest for a bit longer, I'm tired from our chase."

"Alright, looks like your out of shape," I joked.

"Yeah yeah, blame the video games Henry. I think I could still hold my own in a physical dispute though. Me and Kai wrestle every once in a while"

"Want to test that theory?" I said playfully.

"Well-" Takato began, but it was too late. I had softly tackled him to the ground and was holding both of his arms down, being extra careful of the one that had a scrape on it. This might actually look kind of bad to anyone else. He has dried blood and tears still on his face...I look like a bully.

I don't know what took over me, but I produced a playful evil laugh like I was a villain. Takato smiled though and played along, "O no, somebody help!" I could see him trying to keep from laughing.

I was about to make some outrageous villainous claim when I heard something from behind.

"What the HELL are you doing to Takato." the mysterious voiced boomed and startled me to attention. Me and Takato both looked back. I saw a tall tanned boy similar in age to my own. I made to say something but was too shocked initially to form any words. I guess this is Kai. This probably looks really bad.

As I was about to explain the situation, Kai looked down down at Takato and saw the state his face was in. I opened my mouth, "Its not what it looks-" but that was all I could get out. Kai swiftly threw a punch out and surprised me. I was unable to dodge and all I could feel was the sudden blunt force on my face. I felt my ears pop and for a few moments my vision became extremely disoriented. I tried to recover but I could not think straight. For a moment I thought it would work itself out, but my vision filled with dark blotches until it was completely filled.

* * *

We made our way down the sidewalk. We were a few good blocks away from Lea's Linens at this point. I was walking with me and Kai's uniforms under my hands. Kai was carrying Henry on his back. Kai was bigger than Henry so it seemed to be a pretty easy task for him. Looking at them, it was pretty cute. It looked like Henry was just sleeping on him.. However, the reality was that he had a huge red mark on his cheek and was passed out. At first I was worried that Henry was killed, but after checking on his breathing I realized he had just gone unconscious. Of course that was pretty serious too.

We spent the first few minutes of our walk to Henry's apartment arguing about what had happened. After Kai learned the truth of the events, he still seemed angry but managed to chill out slightly. We had checked Henry's wallet and found a receipt from Lea's Linens. On it was the address that we believe Henry was staying at. Kai decided to take him there first to see if he would wake up quickly or to see if his parents were home.

The situation would be hard to explain to his parents if they were there, but when Henry finally woke up he would be able to tell them too. At least were not strangers...I guess I hope his dad would still know who I am. Part of me is hoping that his parents are not there and that Henry wakes up quickly.

I'm glad were not talking at the moment though. I really shouldn't be mad at Kai, he just happened to come at the worst possible time. I'm not even sure why I'm mad though. I should be glad he wanted to save me, but I guess...I guess because it was Henry who got hurt I'm still upset. I'll forgive him of course, but man am I just mad about it all right now. That is why were walking in silence. After he got a clear picture of what happened between Henry and me, he became silent.

The silence is still nice. First, it feels amazing outside. My scrape and nose still hurt, but the cool air makes me feel slightly better,. Second, I have a lot of things I'm thinking about and no noise around makes it easier to think. Thankfully, almost no one is out in the street so we do not seem to be catching anyone's attention.

Going through what happened, the first thing I could think about was Henry himself. He looked different but the same. He was bigger, so much bigger really. Not as big as Kai...but not that far off. Maybe 3 inches in height. His hair was the same as before, cut short, and with a nice blueish color to it. The part that was truly surprising was how he was built. After he removed his shirt I could see his well defined muscles. He was still slim, but he had a six pack as well as well toned chest muscles. His love of martial arts gave him a uniquely muscled look. Where as Kai looked bulky, Henry looked slim and toned all over.

It was...kind of hot...I don't even know why I would think like this...I never think like this when I see Kai naked, but just seeing Henry shirtless seemed to make me loose my breath for a moment. Thinking about it now, I could feel my cheeks grow red and saw Kai take notice, but he seemingly ignored it immediately.

Well just thinking he was hot doesn't make me gay right? That is a lot more to think about then I want to right now. For now I'll just say maybe.

I wonder why Henry stopped talking to me. I wanted to press the issue further, but it seemed wrong at the time. He said that it had nothing to do with me, so for now I'll believe that. I do want to know the truth when we become better friends.

Friends...I think that its going to be amazing. I am a bit scared at the same time. I readily accepted his apology and really want to become friends again quickly. I know the risk of hurt is there, but I'd rather take that risk than continually sit in loneliness. I mean I have Kai of course, but Kai is my cousin. He will take my side no matter what I say or do. I need someone else that I can trust in. Rika is too far and well she is a girl too...so its hard to talk to her about some things.

I was almost giddy as we made our way to Henry's apartment complex. Thinking about the possibilities in our friendship and how school might go this year. I spent the rest of the walk daydreaming. As we finally reached the apartment building we looked again at the receipt.

"Room 202 and 203...they rented two apartments?" Kai asked.

I said, "I guess we will see, but he only had one key right?"

"Hmm, yeah but maybe it works for both doors." He shrugged and started up the stairs to the second floor.

I followed behind and tried to make sure Henry would stay stable on his back. There really was no need to worry. To Kai, who was use to carrying heavy shipping cargo from ship to ship, Henry likely seemed light.

They reached room 202 and Kai handed me the key. I slipped the key into the hole but it did not seem to fit. Still I tried a moment longer before giving up and moving onto apartment room 203. I inserted the key and turned it. With a light click, the door unlocked and I opened it slowly.

The room was dark so I turned on the light first. Before entering in I thought it would be right to call out to anyone in the apartment first. "Hello? Is anyone here?"

We waited for a moment before trying once more. After no one responded, we made our way into the house. There were still multiple boxes piled in the living room. There was a plain brown carpet on the floor, overhead there was a large golden light fixture that was illuminated brightly. Besides the boxes, the room also featured two large couches around a small coffee table. The couches pointed towards a large TV against the wall. A large plotted plant stood in the corner of the room. The boxes seemed to be full, they had not fully unpacked. I went ahead and motioned for Kai to lay Henry on the couch. Kai walked over and gently laid him down, taking a few cushions to prop his head up.

"And now we wait" Kai said coldly.

It had only taken about ten minutes to get to the apartment. We had discussed it before and decided that if Henry did not wake up after thirty minutes and his parents were not there, we would call for an ambulance.

The silence in the room felt awkward. The room was well lit, but because of the boxes and sparse furniture, it gave the off a weird feeling.

Kai checked his phone, he had started his stop watch app before they started walking earlier. He put his phone away and folded his arms. "Are you still mad at me? I did not do anything wrong ya know?"

I looked away from him...I was still mad, "I know."

The shortness of my reply seemed to catch him off guard. He tensed up and continued, "I"m sorry Takato."

"You need to apologize to Henry." I said.

Kai knelt down to get eye level with Henry, "I"m sorry Henry. I didn't-"

"When he is awake you dweep!" I said with a slight grin appearing on my face.

Kai laughed softly and stood back up. "Will you forgive me if I apologize to him."

I looked around the room to keep from having to look directly at Kai, "I already forgave you. You did not do anything wrong."

I went to continue speaking but he cut me short, "Then why are you mad?"

I looked down at the floor and thought for a few moments. I wanted to give Kai a truthful answer. Still, I could not put together why I was still mad. "I don't know, I just am."

"Well I don't know what to do, I don't want you to be mad at me." Kai's voice seemed tenser than usual and I thought I could hear a cord of sadness in it.

I finally met his gaze, "Just give me some time OK?"

He nodded and looked after Henry.

I guess we both decided that silence was once again the best fit for the situation.

One minute passed. Two minutes. Three. I think at least. It felt like it had already been an hour and I was getting worried.

Right when I was about to tell Kai we should call for an ambulance, Henry started to make some garbled noises. It was impossible to understand, but he started to fidget on the couch. I went over to him and got down to his eye level. His eyes gradually opened up and I could see them focusing on the outside world. Kai stood a bit behind me overlooking the whole situation.

Henry made a few more incoherent noises and then went to rub his eyes. Finally he seemed to be coming around. I felt a huge pressure lift from my shoulders and started to feel immensely joyful. I had been so worried something awful would happen to him.

Finally he stopped rubbing his eyes and looked right into my eyes. He gave me a wide smile and dazedly said, "Takato you're so cute." My face become a bright red and I could feel the heat of it emanating off. Henry was just there with a stupid grin on his face. I couldn't see him, but I could almost feel Kai tense up with an overwhelming presence behind me.

Henry looked from me to Kai and then to around the room, "Why are we in my new apartment?"

I looked up at Kai who nodded to me, then I looked back to Henry and quickly told him about the short time he had been unconscious.


	5. Chapter 5

Being knocked out feels a lot worse than what TV shows make it look like. I'm still groggy, my face stings, my eye aches, my vision is still a bit blurry, and it is hard to think. Laying on the couch feels good, I feel like I could drift off to sleep at any moment...but they won't let me.

Next to me, crouched down to be at my eye level, was Takato. He was talking to me and holding a bag of ice against by eye. Dammit, it feels like my eyes going to go numb, but I'm sure his hand is feeling the same way. Behind Takato, standing up and looking down at both of us was Kai. I've only met him a handful of times, but I remembered him being more carefree and energetic. Right now he is standing there like some ominous dark prescience. Maybe I'm reading too much into it though, I can't really focus right now.

Well the one thing I can focus on clearly is how cute Takato is. Sitting here, talking to me, holding up the ice, looking cute...need to be careful if I stare at him too much I'm seriously going to pop a boner.

I decided I needed to focus on something else, "I think I'm OK now guys."

Takato took the ice pack away from my face. "Are you sure? We don't mind staying for a while."

I twitched as he took off the ice pack. "Ouch...dammit."

Takato frowned and looked over at Kai, who only nodded in response. "Looks like me and Kai will be staying here for a while." He stood up to make his way back to the freezer.

"Fu- whatever, do what you want" I sank into the couch trying to hide my smile. Kai's eyes looked disapprovingly down at me. Man this is a bit creepy.

I could hear Takato rummaging in the freezer, I guess he was getting more ice. The sound caught Kai's attention and he looked over toward the kitchen. "Don't get any more for now, you can't just ice his face forever. You have to give it a break."

The noise stopped. "But he is hurt, we need to help make him feel better!"

"Freezing his face off ain't going to make anything better." Kai looked back down at me with a sly smile. "But if you really really want to I'm not going to object."

The freezer closed and I heard Takato's footsteps approach from behind the couch.

"Is there anything you want Henry? Anything we can do?" Takato said while looking down on me from behind the couch.

I thought for a moment and wasn't coming up with anything. I was still in pain but it was starting to become just a dull consistent throb rather than the stabbing death like ache it was earlier. It was at this point that I realized I'm actually kind of thirty...and I guess hungry.

I started up at Takato, his questioning face starting down at me. "I'm kind hungry...thirsty...and sleepy."

Takato twisted his neck to look over at Kai. "Think you can make him something to eat?"

Kai folded his arms around his chest. "Wait...me? Why do I have to do it?"

Takato appeared to be taken by surprise by this. "Well...umm...I'm not really good at cooking...plus ya know this is your fault too."

Kai's face stiffened. "Hey its not my fault that it looked like he was trying to rape you."

What, what...rape...that's a bit of a stretch. Maybe taking his money or just beating him up for fun, but it didn't look like Rape...I think...

Takato grew red from the accusation. "Wh-what! You thought he was raping me?"

"Well I mean yeah. Why would he steal from you? I mean I guess it could have been a fight but it just looked like...he wanted you." Kai replied.

I wanted Takato? I mean I think he is cute...but there is a bit of time needed to getting tot he point of "wanting" him. I mean...in my mind sure, but I wouldn't act on it like that...and it would have to be consensual!

Takato made to argue back but stopped short of continuing. "We will...talk about this later. Anyways, I know the situation, it wasn't only your fault. Let's just help him feel better. OK? As an apology."

Kai took the hint and waved his hand at Takato. "Whatever, I'll make him something."

Takato smiled. "Thanks Kai! You're awesome."

Kai's face went slightly red. He moved off into the kitchen and I could hear the sound of him rummaging through the cabinets.

Seeing Kai leave I sank further into the couch and let out an audible sigh. I guess its going to take some time for him to warm up to me. I hope he really does realize everything was just a misunderstanding. But well, if he is protective of Takato I could see why he would want to keep me at a distance. Takato forgave me for disappearing, but I don't know if Kai will.

Takato sat next to me Indian style. His eyes scanned me from toes to head quickly. "Everything else ok? Anything I can do."

I shook my head. "No no, you guys have been doing enough already..."

"Are you sure?" Takato interrupted, his voice pleading for something to do.

I wanted to reach out and reassure him...but I decided not to. "Honestly I'm fine...I think at least...its not your fault anyways."

"But I was the one who ran away." Takato's gaze went to the floor "I-I..."

I decided I needed to stop this type of thinking quickly. "But I'm the one who spooked you. Come on now, it is not your fault. Plus now we get to be friends again. I'm glad it happened. Black eye and all."

Takato slightly laughed and looked back at me. "What...what about the cute part?"

I involuntarily raised an eyebrow. "What..." I used my fingers to make a motion for quotations, "cute part are you talking about?"

Takato grew flustered, looked away and moved his hand up to rub the back of his head. "O well umm...never mind about it...if you don't remember, it doesn't really matter." He gave me a few glances, growing slightly brighter with each one.

"Come on you got to tell me now." I sat up a bit on the couch and lightly punched his shoulder with my fist. "I hate not knowing something."

Takato looked up at me and I gave him a wide grin to try and reassure him. Of course with the giant black eye I'm not really sure if that was going to help much or not.

Apparently, it did not take much to persuade him to release the information. "Well," Takato began as he looked away from me once more, "When you first woke up you said...that someone was cute..." He stopped speaking and looked back at me.

I sat up a bit puzzled and motioned with a small wave of hand, "go on..."

"You...yo-you said I was cute." Takato quickly looked towards the kitchen, trying to avert his attention onto something else.

I let out a long drawn out, "Ahhhhh."

Takato shifted uncomfortable on the floor. It looked like he wasn't sure if he should have told me that or not. Wow, he really is cute right now.

"Well I wasn't wrong was I?" I said while showing him a small smile.

"I-I duno" Takato looked over at me. "Are you gay Henry?"

 **Bang**

I heard a cabinet slam shut from the kitchen followed by, "Dammit!"

Both the question and the noise in the kitchen surprised me. For someone who appeared to be as reserved as Takato was, he sure asked a big thing right away. But I guess now is a better time than any. If he hates gay guys we would never be able to be friends anyways.

"Well yeah. I'm gay. I mean I think your cute, but I did not mean that in a creepy I want to fuck your brains out kind of way...I just meant you looked cute...which I still think is true...but not like...if were friends I'd be thinking about you all the time kind of way...more like ummm...I guess like you know how everyone likes food and some foods look just really good to eat...now I'm not saying I want to eat you here...its just an example...ummm...I mean that even though I like food and some food looks good...I'm not going to eat every food...I can just appreciate how it looks...so yeah...don't be creeped out please? I got enough of that from back in Tokyo..."

"Its fine, its fine!" Takato interrupted, while putting his hand on my shoulder. "Calm down...I kind of get what you are saying here." He shook my shoulder slightly. "Umm, can I ask how long you've known? That you were gay I mean."

I was feeling a bit scattered brain, but tried to collect my thoughts clearly. "When we were all together I had just started to hit puberty but I still did not really like any gender. I guess two years after you left my hormones hit into overdrive and I realized very quickly that I liked guys. I made a stupid decision at the time and completely came out as gay at school. Things went south...and that is when I cut everyone off...but that's a story for another time, its a bit more complicated than that..." I noticed Takato looking down in deep thought. I hope I didn't scare him off...he did say it was fine though.

"That must have been tough..." Takato said.

I started to use one hand to twirl my hair, a bit embarrassed. "Yeah...but I'm over that now."

Takato looked at me and seemed like he was searching for something. I fidgeted a bit nervously. "Wh-what is it Takato?"

Takato opened his mouth about to speak, paused, and then closed his mouth again. Did it actually bother him? What I was saying? O fuck, I hope I didn't mess this up already. "I ummm know that is a lot to take in, but I'm still...at least mostly...the Henry you knew."

Takato blinked a few time and shook my shoulder again. "O no no no, I'm not worried about your whole gay thing. I'm just well...I was thinking about the gay situation...its just that, I'm wondering if I might be gay too."

 **BANG**

Another cabinet slammed in the kitchen.

Takato looked away from me, a slight red showing on his face. He was playing with his hands trying to distract himself.

I cleared my throat. "Well, like, what makes you think you might be gay?"

Takato continued to mess with hands as he replied. "Well, and I'm still working through this so maybe I'm not, but when I saw you shirtless earlier it was kind of...attractive I guess."

I placed my hand underneath my chin. "I guess I'm kind of flattered. I mean, I don't know if your gay though, you can think someone looks hot and not exactly like them in a romantic way...have you thought about other guys being attractive?"

Takato continued to fidget slightly, but noticeably slowed down as he thought about my question. "The only other guy I have seen without a shirt is Kai and some of the very young boys on the island...well and some old fishermen...but none of them had an effect on me like you do. So maybe you're right...I mean I don't think I'm gay just yet...that is why I asked when you knew you were gay."

I scanned Takato as he finished talking. The young boy was still looking down at his hands, playing with his fingers to distract himself. I'm honestly surprised that he is so open about this, but well its not like were complete strangers or anything. Thinking about it now though, just thinking a guy is hot doesn't make you gay, but it could be a good starting point to realizing it.

This time, I put my hand on Takato's shoulder and gave it a reassuring shake. "Well yeah, I think I understand what you are saying. I think you should give it more thought. Being gay is more than just finding someone attractive. You would want to like...have a romantic relationship too. When you start thinking about guys all the time and masturbating about doing stuff with them, that is when I think you've hit the gay point." He looked up at me and I tried to give him a quick smile.

Takato sat there looking at me for a while and then made to ask another question. "So, you jerk off thinking about guys all the time."

Takato had a sharp focused gaze placed on me and I could feel my cheeks heating up. What type of question is that to ask someone right away? "Well umm...I-I-"

"TAKATO" I heard a loud shout come from the entrance way to the kitchen. Both me and Takato swung our heads around to see Kai standing an the entryway. "You-you're being too forward man. That's like not a question you ask someone you just met." Giving Kai a closer look I could see his face was flustered as well.

Takato seemed to be taken by surprised and took a moment to respond. "But Henry's not a stranger, I've known him for years...I mean I haven't seen him for a while, but he is still the same Henry as before."

"Dammit the foods going to burn. Takato come here with me." Kai motioned for Takato to come with him to the kitchen.

Takato gave me a quick look and shrugged. He stood up and made his way over to the kitchen with Kai. I could hear a few things being moved around, the sound of a pot being used, and the mumbling of two guys talking, but it was too hard to make out.

But wow, asking me about my masturbation habits...how bold Takato! Well Kai was right, that is not something you just ask someone about it. But damn was it hot. I put my hand on my crotch and could feel the large hard lump in my pants. I looked over to the kitchen and didn't see anyone so I started to rub it quietly. Dammit, why was Takato so cute. If any of them came back I'd hear them as they approached, I guess I can have a little fun here, they are likely to be in there for a while...I hope.

I placed both my hands on the sides of my pants, tugging at the waistband, I pulled them down slightly. I could feel my cock slither out from its restriction. Thinking about Takato had made me insanely horny. I saw my large cock throbbing, waiting for my hands to touch it. I've measured at about eight and a half inches before, I know I'm bigger than the average guy. Like most other guys I knew, I was also uncut. I could see the foreskin stretching on my cock's head, leaving about half of the tip exposed to the air.

I closed my eyes and thought about what Takato might think if he walked in and saw me like this. The thought of being caught enthralled me. I started to play with the tip with my fingers, feeling a bit of precum already dripping from the hole. Moving my other hand up my chest and starting to rub on my left nipple. I wanted to moan but I couldn't let the sound escape. I slid a finger into my foreskin, touching the sensitive glans, forcing me to bite my lip to keep my moans in check. I imagined Takato doing these things to me. Fuck, I hope he doesn't see my like this. I let out a moan as quietly as I could as I pulled the foreskin down and started to stroke my cock. The bright pinkish glans were glistening from the precum that had been dribbling from the tip.

I could hear them still talking and moving about in the kitchen, but I need to make this quick. I started to stroke the cock quickly, pulling the foreskin up and down my cock's head with each stroke. Imagining Takato's hand doing all this work, I let out several very muffled moans. I continued to lightly bite my lip to distract myself from the overwhelming sensations.

At this point, the precum had created a nice lubricant and my cock was sliding smoothly back and forth in my hand. I could feel that I was going to cum...but where should I finish? I looked around frantically and cursed my lack of foresight. Stupid hormones. With no time to spare, and not wanting to stop stroking, I turned onto my stomach and put my cock deep between the couch cushions. It only took a few more small strokes at the base of my dick, then I could feel my orgasm envelop my body. I felt the lobs of cum pushing into the couch as I finally let out a louder moan. After I felt the last drops of cum leave me, I laid there and let out a sigh of relief. "Takato." I whispered gently.

My body had that after-orgasm sluggishness to it and I couldn't gather up the strength to take my dick out of the couch. I didn't hear anything from the kitchen anymore...wait I need to get myself decent here...

A voice startled me from behind the couch. "Are you alright Henry?" Takato peaked out from the top of the couch. "Ha, did it hurt rolling on your stomach? We heard a noise and Kai thought I should go check on you..." his voice trailed off.

I turned my head and met his eyes. He was looking at my ass...fuck...I haven't pulled my pants up yet. Takato's face grew a few shades of red, he lifted his hands to his eyes and turned around. He spoke softly, "Henry, I think your pants got a bit loose..."

I forced a chuckle. "Ha ha, yeah sorry about that, I guess it came...loose when I rolled around or something." I pulled my pants up and adjusted them properly. "There all better."

Takato looked back at me, the embarrassment still showing on his face. "O yeah don't worry about it, it just took me my surprise is all." He rubbed the back of his head but kept his eyes on me. "Sooooo, are you feeling better?"

I smiled. "Yeah I'm feeling great, but started to feel really hungry...how is the food doing."

Takato walked to the kitchen door, took a quick glance into the room, and then sat himself next to me on the side of the couch. "Yeah, it looks like its almost done. Kai made some kind of soup. He cooks a lot at our house so I'm sure its going to be yummy." He gave me a quick smile.

"Well," I began to say while stretching my arms behind my back. "I guess we just have to wait for Kai then. I hope its as delicious as you're making it out to be!"


End file.
